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in cultural dispositions and political attitudes. Their study revealed that cultural
factors such as appreciation of linguistic exaggeration and African American humor
were related to tolerance for controversial rap music. In addition, political attitudes
regarding sexual freedom and beliefs about raps contribution to societal degradation were also predictive of tolerance for rap.
Since these early studies that focused on raps cultural roots, there has been a shift in
the predominate themes contained within the music. Much of rap ceased to challenge political oppression and instead exploited violence and misogyny to sell records
(Negus, 1999; Pinn, 1996). The concern over these controversial themes may have
been partly responsible for the increased attention that effects researchers paid to rap
music.
In summary, we have noted that communication researchers ignored rap music early
on but later turned their attention to the genre by focusing on the cultural roots of the
music. Many of these scholars suggested that reaction to rap music was rooted in a
lack of cultural understanding of rap and its origins. However, since this early research, much of mainstream rap music seems to have increasingly contained violent
and misogynist themes. We explore how scholars have begun to investigate the
effects of these themes below.
Sounding the Alarm: Research on Misogynist and Violent Rap Themes
Starting sometime around the mid-1990s media effects scholars and critics ceased to
be primarily concerned with the cultural aspects of rap, and appeared to turn their
attention to the impact of rap music on audience members. Much of this work
appeared to be rooted in concerns about misogynist and violent lyrics in rap. Below
we discuss some of the major conclusions reached by these scholars.
Effects of Exposure to Violent Rap Lyrics. There is a long history of research on the
effects of violent television on behavior. Media effects researchers have documented
that violent television has a number of psychological effects on viewers. These
include desensitization to actual acts of violence, learning aggressive behaviors, and
increased fear of victimization (Harris, 1999; Huessman & Miller, 1994). It was not
difficult for these media effects scholars to apply this theorizing to rap music. Rap
music had been accused by critics for some time of containing excessively violent
themes (Armstrong, 1993; Lynxwiler & Gay, 2000).
These studies reveal several interesting trends. The strongest findings seem to suggest that violent themes in rap music can prime other violent thoughts (Hansen,
1995; Harris, 1999). Johnson, Jackson and Gatto (1995) tested whether such a priming process would lead rap music to encourage black teens to engage in violent
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behavior and drug selling. They found that teens exposed to violent rap music
expressed greater acceptance of the use of violence and reported that they would
likely engage in violence in the future. In addition, black teens exposed to rap
videos were more likely to support the illegal acquisition of wealth.
Other studies have suggested that rap music has become so associated with violence
that exposure to rap alone conjures images of aggressive behavior. For example,
Ballard, Dodson and Bazzini (1999) found that antisocial rap lyrics were less likely
to inspire prosocial behaviors than antisocial country/pop lyrics. They concluded
that the media may link rap fans with a lack of adaptive behavior. Another study by
Rubin, West and Mitchell (2001) found that rap listeners showed more aggression
and distrust of authority than non-rap listeners. A third study by Fried (1999) had
participants read a violent lyrical passage which was described as either a rap song or
a country song. She found that the reactions to the lyrics were significantly more
negative when the passage was described as rap rather than as country. Finally, raps
association with aggressive behavior and misogyny is so pervasive that McLeod et
al. (1997) concluded that exposure to rap music is linked to increased support for
curbing lyrics that may be viewed as objectionable.
In summary, the majority of these studies appear to suggest that a form of priming is
operating with rap music and violence. In other words, rap music has become so
associated both with blacks and with violence, that exposure to violent rap themes
may elicit aggressive thoughts in listeners (Hansen, 1995). Evidence also seems to
suggest that a similar process may be at work with regard to the misogynistic themes
that may appear in the music. We discuss this process below.
Rap Music and Misogyny. In addition to the contention that violent themes in rap
increase aggressive behavior and attitudes, many effects scholars and critics have
also claimed that rap music perpetuates misogyny. In fact, many scholars note that
some rap lyrics attempt to objectify, devalue, or subjugate African American women
through insulting and subordinating words such as bitch, ho, and skeezer
(Henderson, 1996; Pinn, 1996; Powell, 1991; Rose, 1994; Watts, 1997). Some of
these scholars have suggested that black women have historically been convenient
targets on which black men release their aggression (Pinn, 1996, 1999). Content
analyses have provided some support for the notion that much of the most popular
rap music appears to contain objectionable lyrics (Ballard et al., 1999).
Rap researchers have gone beyond identifying the misogynist themes and have investigated whether this type of music may lead to a number of negative psychological outcomes. For example, Gan, Zillmann and Mitrook (1997) found that exposure
to rap laden with sexual imagery fostered distinctly unfavorable evaluations of black
women. Barongan et al. (1995) discovered that misogynist music facilitates sexually
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suggest that the rap audience itself is diverse and includes both whites and blacks,
teens and middle-aged adults (Gladney, 1995; Haines, 1999; Rose, 1994).
However, we understand some of the reasons why whites have received so much
attention in prior work. First, whites purchase more rap music than African Americans. Second, whites have very little contact with blacks. As a result, they might use
the content as a surrogate for contact with African Americans (Haines, 1999; Stephens,
1991). Third, white rap consumption may influence rap musics marketing and promotion patterns. For example, Haines (1999) has observed that the popularity of socalled gangsta rap coincided with an increase in white consumption of rap music.
Some whites have even appropriated rap as an expression of rebellious resistance. A
few critics have called whites who engage in such appropriation culture vultures
(Haines, 1999; Stephens, 1991). These three reasons suggest that it is important to
understand white audience members reaction to the music. However, focusing too
much on white audience members may limit our understanding of rap and its effects.
We explore some of these issues below.
Blacks and Black Culture as Central to Rap Culture. The focus on white audience
members draws attention away from the fact that rap music was created by the black
community and continues to be associated with black culture (Dixon & Linz, 1997;
Rose, 1994). Below we argue that two issues are important with regard to the centrality of blacks within the culture of rap music. The first has to do with the extent to
which African Americans are the central producers of the music. Second, it is important to examine the various constituencies that make up the black rap audience and
consider how they might be engaged in deconstructing and/or consuming the messages to the songs.
As suggested earlier, African Americans play a unique role in the creation of rap. The
overwhelming number of performers in rap music are black. This would suggest that
they have a tremendous amount of influence over the music. However, there has been
some contention over whether black performers have the ability to affect the content
of their music. Some of this controversy is related to the issue of who controls the
distribution of rap recordings. Some have framed this issue as a battle between
independent labels (also known as indies) versus major labels (Gladney, 1995).
Some observers contend that the independent labels allow hip-hop artists to pursue
alternative commercial venues in order to maintain authenticity. This is because
these labels are typically run by African Americans or by whites who are trying to
create a niche in the market. However, major labels encourage commercial gain that
retards the development of valid cultural expression (Gladney, 1995).
In summary, the black community is extremely important in terms of the production
of rap themes, but these themes are partially shaped by the distribution outlets of the
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music. Below we discuss how the constituency of rap music itself is complex and
consists of several perspectives and interests.
The Complex Black Rap Audience. The rap audience itself has many different elements. One element that has been understudied has been black women performers
and audience members. As suggested above, a number of studies appear to suggest
that some rap music contains misogynist themes, and that those themes can have a
negative psychological effect on rap consumers. However, we need to understand the
extent to which black women performers and audience members use the music to
challenge sexist assumptions regarding black women.
For instance, bell hooks (1994) has suggested that black women are perpetually
negotiating the gaze that relegates them to sexualized and subordinate positions
compared to men. This gaze is often resisted by black women who find it
disempowering. Furthermore, some women have not only resisted this gaze, but they
have created an alternative gaze where they try to make onlookers see them in a new
light.
Rap music videos may allow some female artists to find alternative ways to present
themselves (Roberts, 1994). For example, Roberts (1994) observed that rap artist
Queen Latifah draws upon African musical and cultural tradition to critique sexism
and racism in her music. McLean (1997) observed, for instance, that African American and Latina females actively used rap music to construct sexual expression that
did not subordinate them to men.
Overall, this section has suggested several things. First, whites have received a
tremendous amount of attention by those studying the impact of rap music. Second,
rap themes are complex and influenced by various market forces along with black
culture. Third, the rap audience itself is complex. Black women represent one aspect
of this audience that must receive more attention in future work. Particularly important is the issue of how black women contend with sexism and objectification. Below
we outline a few specific steps that should be undertaken in order to advance our
knowledge of rap music and rap audiences.
Advancing a Research Program on Rap Music and Rap Audiences
In this section we outline a research program designed to address some of the shortfalls of past research. Specifically, we suggest that a two-prong research program be
undertaken that utilizes a number of methods. First, a long-term content analysis that
tracks both rap music themes and outlets is important. The second prong involves
investigating all facets of the rap audience, with special attention directed towards
women. We explore each of these below.
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